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Every parent wants to keep their child safe and healthy, and that begins at home. Regardless of how clean you keep the nursery, air pollutants always find a way in. To help you find the best air purifier for baby room, I’ve reviewed the top options you can buy today.
Best Air Purifier for Baby Room
- Vornadobaby Purio Nursery
- Levoit LV-H132
- Honeywell HPA300
- Fellowes AeraMax Baby DB55
- Coway AP-512HH Mighty
- GermGuardian AC4100 3-in-1 Desktop
The 6 Best Air Purifiers for Baby Room in 2021
1. Vornadobaby Purio Nursery 
With an assortment of safety features designed especially for a baby nursery, powerful air filtration, and a very competitive price, the Vornadobaby Purio Air Purifier with True HEPA filtration is the best for a nursery up to 125 square feet.
The design certainly reflects that this air purifier was designed especially for baby rooms – it doesn't have any sharp edges that might hurt your little one or dangling cords they might trip on. It also has a tamper-proof control panel, so you don’t need to worry about your child turning it off accidentally.
As for its air filters, it boasts the traditional and trusty 3-stage air filtration system to guarantee the cleanest and healthiest air quality for your baby. First, you get a washable pre-filter covering the True HEPA filter to trap the most massive particles and extend the True HEPA filter's lifespan.
Then, there’s the core True HEPA filter. It can capture up to 99.97% of dust mites, pollen, mold spores, allergens, viruses, and fungi particles, as small as 0.3 microns in size. The air purifier is also fitted with an activated carbon filter to eliminate unwanted odors in the nursery.
Additionally, it has 3 airflow settings with an automated sleep mode, and there’s a Nightlight option that gently glows in the dark.
Pros:
- Smooth edges and lockable controls
- Automated sleep mode
- Soothing glow
- 5-Year Happy Parent Guarantee
- Ozone-free
- Charcoal filter to neutralize odors
Cons:
- Slightly noisier, although its white noise isn’t too annoying
2. Levoit LV-H132 
The Levoit LV-H132 is another excellent baby room air purifier capable of maintaining excellent air quality for your child, boasting a room coverage of around 129 square feet. This is pretty close to the previous air purifier and will suffice in any nursery or baby room.
When it comes to filtration, this air purifier has a comprehensive 3-stage air filtration system. First is the pre-filter that captures larger particles. Then, a True HEPA filter traps smaller airborne pollutants such as pollen, pet dander, germs, and dust mites. Finally, the activated carbon filter tackles any lingering odors and keeps the air smelling fresh.
Moreover, the LV-H132 is near-silent on the lower fan speed, producing only around 25 dB. And thankfully, it gets louder only incrementally on higher settings, so don’t worry about the noise scaring your little one.
Like the first model, the LV-H132 doesn't use UV-C light or an ionizer, known for producing traceable amounts of ozone, a harmful pollutant. This makes it perfect for children who have asthma.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a remote control or an automatic shut-off feature. But it does have plenty of other features, including an LED nightlight that glows in the darkness and a light that functions as a reminder when you need to replace your filters.
Pros:
- Ozone-free
- Connects to Wi-Fi for easy control
- Lightweight and portable
- 2-year warranty and lifetime support
- Filter replacement reminder
- Energy Star certified
Cons:
- No timer or automatic shut off
3. Honeywell HPA300 
Taking room coverage up a notch, the Honeywell HPA300 would be a great choice for extra-large baby rooms. It can circulate air up to 5 air changes per hour in an area up to 465 square feet in size – a sizable improvement from the first two models.
This is a True HEPA allergen remover capable of delivering excellent indoor air quality in no time. Its core True HEPA filter can tackle a vast array of pollutants and help reduce airborne allergens, pollen, pet dander, smoke, viruses, bacteria, and mold spores.
Additionally, it features a carbon pre-filter that captures large particles such as lint, dust, fibers, and pet fur and helps neutralize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and unwanted odors from cooking. It doesn’t have an ionizer or UV-C light filter, so it doesn’t emit harmful ozone.
Thankfully, you don’t need to worry about forgetting to replace your filters thanks to the electronic filter replacement reminders, and the filters are pretty affordable to replace.
The air purifier boasts 3 powerful cleaning levels as well as a Turbo setting. Unfortunately, there isn't a sleep mode, and the noise level is higher than the previous models due to the higher air changes per hour (ACH) and clean air delivery rate (CADR).
Pros:
- Powerful air purifier with True HEPA filter
- Quiet operation even on the highest setting
- Filter change indicator light
- Affordable replacement filters
- Automatic shut-off timer
- Ozone-free
- Auto light dimmer setting
- Energy Star-certified
Cons:
- Rather bulky design
- High noise level
4. Fellowes AeraMax Baby DB55
The Fellowes AeraMax Baby DB55 is another dedicated baby air purifier explicitly designed with a nursery in mind, preferably from 200 to 400 square feet. The air purifier boasts a powerful 4-stage filtration system to ensure clean air in the nursery at all times.
First, there's an activated carbon filter that acts as a pre-filter. It can capture both large particles and unwanted cooking and household odors, cigarette smoke, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Then, a True HEPA traps up to 99.97% of any airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns, including pollen and other allergens, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, viruses, and germs.
But first, the air must go through the built-in AeraSafe Antimicrobial Treatment on the surface of the True HEPA filter. This prevents the growth of odor-producing fungi and bacteria.
Finally, PlasmaTrue Technology, a kind of ionizer, produces an ionized field that easily traps airborne pollutants on the HEPA filter. If you're worried about ozone, however, you can turn off this final stage.
The air purifier comes with 3 fan speeds and an AeraSmart air quality indicator that can automatically adjust the settings. There are plenty of safety features to keep the air purifier tamper-proof, including a lock-out feature to stop your child from changing the touch panel’s settings.
Pros:
- Accurate Smart Sensor
- Low operation noise
- Great room coverage
- Powerful True HEPA filtration system
- Night mode to dim the lights at night
Cons:
- Higher power consumption
5. Coway AP-512HH Mighty
The Coway AP-1512HH sports a deceptively compact and sleek frame that would fit into any nursery. Don’t let that fool you; it packs a lot of power within. It boasts an impressive room coverage of 360 square feet and a thorough 4-stage filtration system.
The first filtration stage is a washable pre-filter that traps large particles such as mold spores and human and pet hair. Next is a deodorization activated carbon filter to get rid of all unwanted odors in the nursery.
The third stage is a True HEPA filter to capture virus particles, pollen, fungi, dust particles, and allergens as tiny as 0.3 microns. Finally, there’s a bipolar ionizer that further freshens the air, and it can be turned off.
The air purifier has a quiet operation noise level that doesn’t reflect the power of its filters and motor. With 3 fan speeds to choose from, the noise level begins at 24.4 dB at the lowest setting, which is hardly audible at all. And the noise doesn’t exceed 54 dB even at the highest fan speed, which won’t startle your baby by any means.
Finally, the Coway AP-512HH boasts additional features, including a timer, a filter lifetime indicator, a real-time indoor air quality sensor, and a brightly colored LED that changes colors according to pollutants' level in the air.
Pros:
- Comprehensive 4-stage filtration system
- Energy Star certification
- Sleek, compact design
- Eco-mode for high energy efficiency
- Auto shut-off
- Indoor air quality sensor
Cons:
- No remote control
6. GermGuardian AC4100 3-in-1
Shopping for a baby air purifier doesn’t need to cost you a fortune. Costing less than $100, the GermGuardian AC4100 3-in-1 Air Purifier manages to boast an impressive traditional 3-stage filter setup for this price range.
The first filtration stage in this air purifier is a pre-filter that traps larger particles before the air flows into the next filtration stages. There's also an activated carbon filter to get rid of any lingering odors.
As for the core filter, it’s a True HEPA filter that traps particles 0.3 microns in size, including dust, pollen, mold, smoke, and pet dander. Finally, there’s an optional UV-C air filter if you want your air purifier to double as a sanitizer. It can maintain crisp air quality by killing airborne bacteria, germs, and viruses.
This air purifier has a somewhat traditional design, featuring a full-size air output grill at the front and a second grill for air intake at the back. While not very aesthetically pleasing, this design maximizes the fan power.
This is a pretty compact air purifier measuring only 11 inches, and it has a room coverage spanning around 78 square feet, which makes it more suitable for a small nursery. The advantage of its compact design is that you can put it on a table or a shelf, away from the wandering hands of your child.
Pros:
- Affordable price
- Compact design suitable for small baby rooms
- One-year limited warranty
- UV-C light sanitization
Cons:
- Smaller air coverage than other air purifiers
Why You Should Buy an Air Purifier for Baby Room
No matter how clean you keep your house, your indoor air is never immune to airborne pollutants. In fact, EPA studies have found that the concentrations of certain airborne pollutants can be 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors.
Hazardous pollutants can originate from cooking, perfume, cleaning products, pet dander and fur, pollen, dust mites, and undetected mold. And as inconspicuous as they seem, they can cause many health problems.
To make matters worse, babies’ exposure to air pollution can have a much more devastating effect than that of adults. It can cause asthma, allergies, and an assortment of other health issues that’ll plague their fragile bodies for years to come.
That's because their lungs are still forming, and the immune system of newborn babies doesn’t kick in until around 2 to 3 months. And when you consider the fact that children breathe in up to 50% more air per pound of bodyweight than adults do, which makes their lungs more susceptible to pollution, the picture seems pretty bleak.
This is where a nursery air purifier proves effective. A reliable air purifier acts as a shield by filtering and trapping airborne particles and chemicals in a baby room and stopping them from being inhaled by infants.
Moreover, we all know how bad the smell can get in a nursery, especially while changing diapers. Thankfully, an air purifier can also eliminate odors and allow for a cleaner, fresher environment for your child. Just make sure to buy one with an activated carbon filter.
Are Air Purifiers Safe to Use Around Babies?
Most air purifiers are perfectly safe to use in a nursery or around your child and can even have plenty of health benefits for them. The only exception to this rule is air purifiers with an ionizer or any other ozone-generating filtration stage.
Ozone is a respiratory irritant that can cause coughing, chest pain, throat irritation, and shortness of breath. It might also compromise the body's immune system. This reduces its ability to fight respiratory infections and worsen existing respiratory conditions such as asthma.
Therefore, the key to finding the best air purifier for baby room is choosing an ozone-free air purifier with the right type of filters. I suggest sticking with a True HEPA air purifier as those are the safest and, thankfully, also the most common.
HEPA air purifiers don’t only remove airborne pollutants in the air to allow your child to inhale cleaner air, but they also don’t produce any harmful byproducts such as ozone that might affect the health of your child.
Can the Air Purifier’s Noise Disturb My Baby’s Sleep?
Not at all! Most air purifiers aren’t too loud to undermine your baby’s restful sleep. In fact, a study has even found that white noise can actually help induce sleep faster.
They only produce a low white noise frequency that helps mask other noises in your household like the sound of a television or adults talking in another room and block out other jarring noises from the outside like traffic noises.
Factors to Consider Before You Buy an Air Purifier for Baby Room
Before buying a baby air purifier for your child, there are certain features and factors you need to keep in mind to make the right purchasing decision.
Room Coverage and Air Purifier Size
The first factor you need to consider is how big the nursery is. Air purifiers can cover anywhere between 100 square feet or less and more than 1500 square feet, and this difference is often reflected in their price.
Getting the largest air purifier on the market for a nursery may be a bit overkill and will take up floor space. But as your child starts growing and continues to explore, they’ll undoubtedly bring in a host of pollutants into their nursery.
Therefore, investing in a powerful air purifier with slightly more than the nursery's actual square footage may be a good idea. I also recommend that you look for an air purifier with 360-degree air intake, because it'll be faster and more efficient in cleaning the air.
Silent Operation
The vast majority of air purifiers include a built-in fan, so they’ll produce some level of noise. That said, air purifiers vary widely when it comes to how much noise they produce.
While some are nearly silent while operating or at least produce a quiet humming sound or white noise frequency, others can get pretty loud. To give your child the sound sleep they need, you should look for an air purifier that doesn’t produce a lot of noise.
Thankfully, most air purifiers offer more than one fan speed with varying degrees of loudness, and some even have a sleep mode with super-quiet operation.
I suggest looking for a quiet air purifier with a noise level of 55 dB or less. You can also find ultra-quiet air purifiers that produce around 20 dB or even less.
However, keep in mind that some air purifiers advertised as having silent operations actually do so because they lack a fan and instead rely on other types of filters that can emit ozone above the recommended level. As previously stated, this can have various health repercussions for your child, especially when you use it overnight.
Brightness
Like noise, bright lights can be distracting and can negatively affect your baby’s ability to fall asleep. Some air purifiers have prominent LED lights to report the air quality indoors, and some models may even have another LED light as a filter replacement reminder.
An air purifier may even have more lights than necessary as an aesthetic choice. But while that may be acceptable in a living room, it can be a bit too jarring for a nursery.
To avoid giving your child fitful sleep, try looking for a slightly more inconspicuous air purifier that doesn’t produce too much light, or at least one with a sleep mode that dims all the light at night.
Alternatively, some air purifiers may have separate control buttons that allow you to manually control the brightness level and turn it down at night if needed.
Safety Features
Babies are curious by nature, so it’s only a matter of time before your little one starts exploring their surrounding environment, starting with their own nursery. Unfortunately, this can put them in harm’s way if you’re not careful with the type of electronic devices they’re allowed access to.
Therefore, the best air purifiers are those designed with babies in mind. You can find baby-proof air purifiers that don’t feature dangling cords that your child can trip over. The design is also an important aspect to consider. It should preferably have no sharp edges or anything that may hurt your child should they fall.
Filter Type
True HEPA Filters
HEPA stands for "high-efficiency particulate air." True HEPA filters are the most common type of filters, and thankfully, they're also the most effective.
A true HEPA filter will easily trap tiny airborne particles such as mold, dust, dander, and cigarette smoke. It can even capture bacteria, germs, and some viruses! In fact, it can trap more than 99.7% of pollutants as tiny as 0.3 microns in size at its highest efficiency.
A true HEPA air purifier will often include other types of filters in addition to its core filter, including a pre-filter or an activated carbon filter to ensure the best air quality possible.
Be careful, though, because not all air purifiers with the word “HEPA” have True HEPA filters. HEPA-like or HEPA-type filters are usually inferior to True HEPA filters, so make sure you’re getting the real deal.
Activated Carbon Filters
An activated carbon filter utilizes heat-modified or chemically-modified carbon to increase its ability to trap pollutants. Unlike a True HEPA filter, an activated carbon filter will mainly tackle gaseous pollutants, including VOCs, fumes, unwanted odors, and smoke.
Instead of using 2 separate filters, an air purifier can sometimes have an activated carbon pre-filter simultaneously serving 2 purposes: eliminating harmful and unwanted gases and trapping solid particles larger than 0.3 microns to increase the lifespan of the True HEPA filter.
UV-C Filters
An air purifier that uses UV-C light to purge the air of pollutants can be very effective in destroying most contaminants on a cellular level, therefore even doubling as a sanitizer.
The UV-C light bulb is placed inside the air purifier, so it never comes into direct contact with your child and can’t harm them.
However, I still wouldn’t personally recommend using one in a nursery because it emits a level of ozone that may have certain respiratory health effects on your child.
Filter Maintenance
The replacement schedule and lifespan for a filter varies according to the air purifier model and the type of the filter itself. Most filters are disposable and need to be periodically replaced after anywhere from 6 to 12 months – sometimes even more.
Some air purifiers go for washable filters or at least ones you can vacuum. This means they can be used for as long as you clean them properly and carefully, and this can be very cost-efficient in the long run.
It would be best if you made sure that the filters are easy to access and don't need any specialized tools to open or clean.
Smart Controls
An air purifier's main job is to clean the air, but some air purifiers feature additional smart features to make your life easier.
For example, an air purifier with a smart air quality sensor will be able to give you real-time feedback regarding the air quality in the nursery. Some will even be able to automatically adjust the fan speed according to the current level of pollutants in the air.
Other air purifiers also feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and can be controlled via smart assistants or user-friendly smartphone apps. This is particularly important if you need to be able to control your air purifier remotely.
The Bottom Line
Baby room air purifiers are often overlooked as a luxury, but that’s far from the truth. An air purifier gets rid of many harmful pollutants and can help your child breathe cleaner air and have better health.
Now that you've read this guide, you probably have a good idea about the best air purifier for baby room, but let me give you a quick recap anyway.
My top pick is the Vornadobaby Purio Nursery Air Purifier. It’s a very capable air purifier with a powerful 3-stage air filtration system, including a True HEPA filter for impeccable air quality. It also offers pretty quiet operation noise as well as a sleep mode.
The reason it stands out from the rest of the field, however, is the fact that it’s designed especially for baby rooms and nurseries. With tamper-proof controls and no sharp edges or cords to trip over, it’s the perfect air purifier for a child.
Additional Reading
